This week, the UK will witness the brightest comet in two decades, visible just before sunrise and after sunset
London: A comet that hasn’t been seen in 160,000 years is making a grand appearance this week. The Atlas C/2024 G3 comet will shine brightly in the UK skies, reaching its peak brightness on January 13. It’s expected to be as bright as Venus, which is pretty impressive!
If you want to catch a glimpse, look to the west just before sunrise. And if you miss it on Monday, don’t worry! You can still spot it for a few nights after, just after sunset.
Dr. Shyam Balaji from King’s College London shared that the comet’s brightness depends on how close it gets to the Sun. As it gets nearer, the heat will cause its icy surface to release gas and dust, creating a glowing atmosphere and possibly a tail. But predicting how bright it will get can be tricky.
So, if the weather cooperates, this comet could be one of the brightest we’ve seen in two decades. It will come within about 8 million miles of the Sun before heading back into the depths of space. The comet was first spotted last April by the ATLAS survey.
When you see it, it’ll look like a bright star, shining a golden white, and might even have a short tail. Comets are fascinating little bodies made of ice, dust, and rock, often called “dirty snowballs” because of their mix.
As comets approach the Sun, the heat makes their ice vaporize, creating a glowing atmosphere called a coma. Sometimes, they even develop a tail that points away from the Sun due to solar wind. Most comets have elliptical orbits, swinging close to the Sun and then far out into space.
Some comets take thousands of years to complete their orbits, while others, like Halley’s Comet, come back more frequently, about every 76 years. They’re important to scientists because they hold clues about the early solar system and how it formed.
